Some homeless break the stereotypes
May 1, 2006
by John La Porte
Fort Morgan (CO) Times News Editor
FORT MORGAN - Homelessness is not necessarily what many
people in the Fort Morgan area seem to think it is.
When local resident Mak Tibbetts was asked to help Columbine
Elementary School principal Ron Pflug and English Language
Learners teacher Pam Watson do research for a project
involving several states, she found a common perception.
"The first thing that comes to mind for a lot of us that
are not in the educational field is people living under boxes
on street corners," she said.
The definition of homelessness is not that simple in federal
government terms.
The definitions include children who:
Share housing with others due to such reasons as loss of
housing or economic hardship.
Live in motels, hotels, trailer parks or campgrounds due to
lack of adequate alternative accommodations
Live in emergency or transitional shelters.
Are abandoned in hospitals.
Are awaiting foster care placements.
Have a primary residence not designed for regular sleeping
accommodations.
Live in cars, parks, public places, abandoned buildings,
substandard housing or bus or train stations.
Colorado Department of Education officials point out:
One out of five homeless children does not attend school.
Homeless children suffer from emotional or behavioral
problems that interfere with learning at almost three times
the rate of other children.
Fourteen percent of homeless children are suspended from
school, double the rate of other children.
Fourteen percent of homeless children repeat a grade after
moving to a new school, compared to five percent of other
children.
Within a single year 41 percent of homeless children attended
two schools, 28 percent three or more.
Thirty-six percent of homeless children have repeated a
grade, twice the rate of others, and 21 percent repeat
because of frequent absences, compared to five percent of
others.
Fourteen percent of homeless children are diagnosed with
learning disabilities, double the rate of others.
Thirty-eight percent of homeless children are treated for
their learning disabilities, compared to 75 percent of
others.
Nine percent of homeless children are in special education
classes, compared to 24 percent of others.
Pflug, Watson and Tibbetts have been studying schools and
homeless and highly mobile children as part of a Colorado
Department of Education project.
About half a dozen schools statewide are participating, and a
like number from several other states are also involved.
They have submitted draft reports, and final reports will go
in by June 1.
Tibbetts took on access to services.
Watson studied teaching methods for homeless and highly
mobile children.
And Pflug looked into how welcoming the school atmosphere is.
The schools do a good job of welcoming children and families
when they first come in, but they could do better on
follow-up, Pflug said.
"We're going to be more focused and more deliberate
about getting back to people and asking them what works and
what doesn't," he added.
He plans to assign new students staff buddies - other than
their teachers - and student buddies from among their
classmates.
Tibbetts found that while there a lot of services, too often
people do not know where to find them.
She is hoping that a new 211 telephone information service
slated to go online soon will prove helpful.
Having representatives of service agencies at registration
and parent-teacher conferences would also help, she added.
Watson found that while homeless and highly mobile children
make connections with their teachers and peers, there is less
connection with the curriculum.
And making that connection is made tougher by increases in
standardized tests.
Schools cannot afford to assume, she added, that students
come to school having eaten breakfast and had a good night's
sleep - that is not necessarily so.